My Son Ran Into This XP Problem

Literally, no sooner had he got the ethernet connection, that the notice came up for upgrade, then university message came up saying to wait, the university wanted time to check their system. Blocked from adding update.

Microsoft Corp.'s decision to release a major upgrade for its flagship operating system in the same month that hundreds of thousands of students are reporting to college campuses across the nation is causing a major headache for the higher education community.

The upgrade, known as Service Pack 2, is designed to patch numerous gaps in Windows XP (news - web sites), the operating system of choice for an estimated 200 million computer users worldwide. The free update includes safeguards against spyware and viruses, a hardened Internet firewall to keep out hackers and upgrades to automate security features and better alert users to security risks on their personal computers.

Worried that the upgrade could conflict with other applications running on university networks, and a related concern that thousands of students attempting to download the software could bring campus computer networks to a standstill, technology administrators at some universities have taken steps to block an automatic service that downloads the software.

"The timing is extremely unfortunate," said Anne Agee, deputy chief information officer at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., whose school is blocking automatic installation of SP2 on all faculty and staff computers because the update interferes with software that the university uses to run faculty PCs.

Wow, I'm amazed that a university has actually done something SMART about microsoft automatic downloads. As well they should, having been on the receiving end of some bad patches, but all in all Kathianne, tell him not to sweat it yet. There's already a bunch of security snafu's with SP2 that waiting will help him more than hurt him.

Wow, I'm amazed that a university has actually done something SMART about microsoft automatic downloads. As well they should, having been on the receiving end of some bad patches, but all in all Kathianne, tell him not to sweat it yet. There's already a bunch of security snafu's with SP2 that waiting will help him more than hurt him.

If you want to know more about Service Pack 2, keep reading today's
newsletter. I have a lot of information about it, especially in the
Killer Tip at the end.

SECURITY 'FLAWS' REPORTED IN SERVICE PACK 2
A German company reported two supposed security vulnerabilities in
Service Pack 2, the massive update of Windows XP. According to the
company, the flaws could trick users into running malicious programs.

These issues involve a warning service from Outlook Express. In some
cases, Outlook Express will tell you that an attachment could be
dangerous. In this case, it does not. And if you open a DOS window and
drag a particular program to it, you could have problems.

A second reputed flaw requires that you agree to go to a particular Web
page. There you have to follow directions to drag a picture which is
hiding malicious code. This, too, could cause you problems.

Of course, you could have problems if you play with loaded guns, too.
These fall under the heading, "Don't Be Stupid." Microsoft can't
protect you against everything. Don't open e-mail attachments you
weren't expecting, and don't be gullible. You'll be fine.

MY "KILLER TIP OF THE WEEK" IS JUST FOR YOU!

I'm going to skip the question and answer format this week. I'm getting
a lot of questions about Service Pack 2, the update for Windows XP, and
I need to address them.

Before getting into the various issues that have cropped up, I want to
reiterate that you should not delay installing Service Pack 2. It could
have issues, but I expect them to be minor. I am running it on my
office computers without problems. I also had no problems with the beta
(test) version, which I ran on one of my boxes.

--> WHEN CAN I GET SERVICE PACK 2?
Microsoft started the downloads this week. Next week, more XP users
will get the updates via Automatic Update. To set up Automatic Updates,
click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click System. Select the Automatic
Updates tab. SP2 should be available on CD at the end of the month.

--> WHAT IS THIS OR THAT ABOUT THE FIREWALL?
I have had a number of questions about firewalls. In SP2, the Windows
firewall is enabled by default. So if you are already using a firewall,
such as ZoneAlarm, you must disable one or the other. Otherwise, you
may have conflicts between the two.

I recommend that you continue to use your third-party firewall such as
ZoneAlarm. XP's firewall still does not block outbound transmissions.
Microsoft believes that it is the job of anti-virus software to stop
malicious programs that send outbound transmissions from your computer
to the Internet. I agree, but I want the firewall to block
transmissions. I use ZoneAlarm. You can download it through my site at:http://www.komando.com/bestshareware.asp#firewalls

To turn off the XP firewall after installing SP2, click Start>>Control
Panel. Double-click Windows Firewall. Select Off. Ignore the warning
not to disable the firewall.

--> SHOULD I MAKE A BACKUP BEFORE INSTALLING SP2?
Backups are always smart, but SP2 shouldn't be dangerous. However, I
did hear from one guy whose network settings were fouled up, apparently
by the SP2 installation. So, if you don't have any type of backup,
maybe this is the excuse you need to finally make one. I have
information about backups at:http://www.komando.com/tips_show.asp?showID=5441

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